


it sounds like drumming

by megasaurus



Series: Ace Attorney AUS & One Shots [5]
Category: Hadestown - Mitchell, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Artist Phoenix Wright, Dorks in Love, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gay, Gay Miles Edgeworth, Gay Phoenix Wright, Inaccurate Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Love Confessions, M/M, Musicals, Out of Character, POV Miles Edgeworth, POV Phoenix Wright, POV Third Person, Pre-Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, but this time it makes sense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-09-28 22:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20433368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megasaurus/pseuds/megasaurus
Summary: "The meanest dog you'll ever meetHe ain't the hound dog in the street.He bares some teeth and tears some skin,But brother, that's the worst of him.No, the dog you really got to dread isThe one that howls inside your head.It's him whose howling drives men madIn a mind to its undoing."Phoenix's songs can bring spring upon dying lands, but if they can't save a dying soul, how can you expect them to bring back the dead?





	1. ~ hey little songbird / wait for me ~

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a very quick fic, just a nice little au. even if you don't know hadestown or greek mythology i highly recommend you read this! its p neat

_Hey, little songbird, you've got something fine_  
_You'd shine like a diamond downin the mine_  
_And the choicee is yours if you're willing to choose_  
_Seeing as you've got nothing to lose  
_ _And I could use a canary_

_♦ ♣ ♠ ♥_  
__

Phoenix?"a soft voice called out. In the darkness, a man, wearing a hooded cloak. It flapped wildly in the wind. "Phoenix?" he repeated, hugging himself tightly. He had no strength to call any louder, had no strength to keep on, he was so weak, so so weak...

"Phoenix," he cried, desperate for something, some kind of sign, oh god, he was _so cold... _How long could he keep going like this?

In the distance, singing. The humming of a tune. There, there is where Phoenix was. If he could just... if he could only...

_So weak. So cold._

The wind was biting. The rain was piercing. Or was that hail? He couldn't tell anymore. Up and down no longer existed. The world spun. The soft, beautiful humming, slowly fading away, buried by the rain and the howling winds, and the man keeled over.

The last thing he heard was a deep golden voice, muttering in his ear, something soft and inviting.

"Hey, little songbird..."  
  


♦ ♣ ♠ ♥  
  


"Where is he?"

"What do you care?" the god snapped back. Phoenix swallowed harshly.

"Where _is _he?" he repeated.

"It doesn't matter. You'll find another muse somewhere."

"It _does _matter," Phoenix grabbed the god's wrist. "Hermes. Where is Miles?" In all his life, Phoenix had never seen Hermes so pissed. He'd never seen the messenger avert his eyes. Normally, so eccentric, excited. Reduced to a grumbling mess.

"What if I said," the god took a step back, away from Phoenix, who was leaning in very close. "He's down below."

"Down below?"

"Six feet under the _ground _below."

"No," Phoenix stumbled backwards. _No. No. No._

Hermes shrugged. "He called your name before he went. But I guess _you _weren't listening."

_Oh, god, oh god, is this my fault? I should have payed attention, I should have-_

"Tell me," Hermes uncrossed his arms and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Just how far would you be willing to go for him?"

Phoenix inhaled sharply. "To the end of the Earth. To the end of time." He scrunched the now finished song in his hand. It wasn't worth it. Finishing the song wasn't worth it. _Why hadn't he payed attention?!_

"You got a ticket?"

"No..."

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

They were both silent for a moment.

Phoenix finally broke the silence, by un-scrunching the song he'd completed. He read it over. "It's real then," he muttered. "Hadestown."

"Yes," Hermes replied after a moment's hesitation. "You didn't think it was?"

"Well," Phoenix smoothed out the paper. "I knew the gods were real. Hades. Persephone. I mean, you exist, so... I just," the song spoke about Hades' greed. Ruling a kingdom, the underworld. "I knew it existed. The evidence was there. I've just never thought about it."

"Yeah, well." Hermes averted his gaze. "Unfortunately, it exists. Fortunately, it also means you still have a chance."

"Miles," Phoenix muttered. "So he's down there then." He peered down at his feet. Was Hadestown truly just below? How deep? How far? "Do I have to dig?"

Hermes had the gall to laugh. "Dig? No. See, I ain't supposed to say, but..."

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥

Maya was passed out on the couch when he arrived back at the office.

_My fault._

He silently packed his things. Food, water, clothes, and even his writing supplies. He knew it would take up space in his bag, but... maybe he could finish the song along the way. And then no one would have to worry anymore. That had been the original plan, so... 

_My fault. _

He took one last look at Maya, and sighed deeply. Lastly, he left a sticky note on her forehead explaining where he'd gone. He urged her to get a job in his absence.

Without another glance, he opened the door, and left.

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥

_How to get to Hadestown; you have to take the long way down._  
__ _Through the underground, under cover of night,_  
__ _Laying low, staying out of sight._  
__ _Ain't no compass, brother, ain't no map,_  
__ _Just a telephone wire and a railroad track._  
_ _Keep on walkin' and don't look back,  
_ _ _ _'Till you get to the bottomland!_ _


	2. ~ behind closed doors / our lady of the underground ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lo and behold, chapter 2

_And Hades said to Eurydice,_   
_"There are papers to be signed, step into my office,"_   
_And he closed the door behind_   
  
  
  


♦ ♣ ♠ ♥  
  
  
  


Miles stared at the papers on the desk. He was all too used to signing documents, but for some reason, these ones sent a chill down his spine. The writing was small. He had to squint to see the fine print.

"You don't need to read all of that," came a sudden, deep voice. "I've already explained what you need to know."

Miles knew better than to sign unread documents, but he was just so tired. He just wanted to see his father, like Hades had promised. He just wanted to lay down his burdens and rest in peace, in this... "promised land", or whatever Hades had called it.

...

He hadn't intended on dying on that trip. Wright laid it out to be perfect. They both needed the break, and it wasn't too far away from the city.

But then there was a storm, and he'd lost sight of the campsite...

If anything, that was just the tipping point.

His hand shook as he signed the papers, but if asked about it later, he'd never admit it. He was expecting some magical transformation, but with the last careful flick of his signature, nothing happened except for Hades whipping the papers away from under his nose.

"That will be all," he said, then gestured to the door behind him. "Go on through."

...Miles had never been one to believe in the afterlife, even after his father's death. The Spirit Mediums, he thought, were just bullshit. Nothing could have convinced him otherwise, and even as he stepped through the door, he still couldn't quite believe it himself.

_Why did I agree to this?_

_Why am I here?_

_What am I doing?_

Already thousands of thoughts flooded his mind, and he turned to go back, but the door had disappeared. He heard some muttering and whispering behind him.

When he turned around a group of miners stared at him, with almost spiteful expressions.

"Wonder how he'll deal with this," one of them said, as Miles descended down the stairs.

"Rich kid like him...? Won't be pretty," another said.

They whispered amongst themselves, even after going back to work.

It was unbearable.

"I'm free," he muttered, thinking he was out of ear-shot. Though he couldn't see the fields just yet, he was sure, if he kept walking, he'd find them. "Hades set me free."

"Free?" a fate cackled. Miles turned his gaze towards her. "Free! Free to work an everlasting overtime in the factories, free to commit your life to _slave _labour!"

"What?" he glared at her as he would glare at Gumshoe. Were The Fates playing a trick?

"Free to clock in, and in, and in, but I'll tell you what you ain't-" she took three dramatic steps towards him. Miles stumbled backwards, and almost lost his balance. "You ain't free to clock out!"

"You must be mistaken," he said, holding his head high. "I'm not here to work. I'm here to see my father, and lay my burdens down in the dirt, and rest."

But she laughed in his face, loud and clear. The other two fates laughed, too. "Look at them," they all said, gesturing towards the workers. "See their eyes? See their skin? Soon you'll look like that, too-

_Down in the river of oblivion_   
_You kissed your little life goodbye_   
_And Hades gave laid his hands on you_   
_And gave you everlasting life!_   
_And everlasting overtime,_   
_In the mine,_   
_The mill,_   
_The machinery._   
_Your place on the assembly line_   
_Replaces all your memories!"_

"What do you mean I'll look like that?" He felt his heartbeat quicken. The Fates never joked around. They didn't have emotions. They're doing their _job, _and so-

Why would they trick him? Let him sign those documents? Were they-?

...

"That's what it looks like to forget."

"Forget what?"

"What you are and everything that came before!"

_No. No, no, no..._

"I-I need to go-"

"Go where?"

"Go back!" _To Wright, the git, to Gumshoe, to the Judge, to the courtroom. To the people who cared. Franziska, hell, von Karma, even, go back to his life-_

No one looked at him anymore, he stared but no one stared back. Whispers halted, and the only sound was the ringing of the pickaxe hitting the rocks, Miles' heartbeat, and his quickened breathing. _No, no, no-_

"Oh? And where is that? What was your name again?"

Miles stared back incredulously. "My- my name? It's-" he kept staring. "It's..."

The Fates almost looked sad for him, but he knew they couldn't feel emotions. It wouldn't do good for The Fates to feel emotions.

They said, "You've already forgotten."  
  
  


♦ ♣ ♠ ♥  
  
  
  


_Now a lot can happen behind closed doors_   
_That's for sure, brother, that's a fact_   
_But a lot can happen on the factory floor_   
_When the foreman turns his back._   
  
  
  
  
  


♦ ♣ ♠ ♥  
  
  
  


"Does anybody want a drink?"

Miles turned his gaze from The Fates, to this new voice, a woman. He gasped loudly. He'd seen this woman before!

"Persephone!" he exclaimed. She turned towards him, and recognition flashed in her eyes, before she donned a pitying expression.

"Why are you here?" she said softly. But then she sighed and shook her head. "Come on boys, ladies... step into my office."

One by one, the workers filtered into a different room, up a different set of stairs. Miles noted the alcohol she held in her hand. When he entered the room, her hand lingered on his back for a little too long. "You shouldn't be here," she whispered.

"The Fates will it," he muttered, turning a stink eye to the three women that no one else could see. Or, rather, the version that followed him around. Everyone had their Fates, after all.

"My husband tricked you," she muttered. "He tricks everyone."

"I don't..." he hesitated. "I don't even remember why I decided to come here in the first place."  
  
  


♦ ♣ ♠ ♥  
  
  
  


_Come here, brother, let me guess_   
_It's the little things you miss_   
_Spring flowers_   
_Autumn leaves_   
_Ask me, brother, and you shall receive._   
_Or maybe these just ain't enough_   
_Maybe you're looking for some stronger stuff_   
_I got a sight for the sorest eye_   
_When was the last time you saw the sky?_


	3. ~ flowers ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as far as chapters go, it's one of the shortest I've ever written, but quite sweet i think

_Flowers, I remember fields of flowers_  
Soft beneath my heels  
Walking in the sun, I remember someone  
Someone by my side, turned his face to mine  
And then I turned away, into the shade

_ _♦ ♣ ♠ ♥__  
___ _

Miles' clothes were now replaced with a uniform.

He felt naked.

Thin materials, easily torn. He was to work in the factories. The steady sound of machinery gave him a headache. The screeching of metal deafened him. And that was what the last few days had been, their only salvation being Persephone, who, without fail, always gave Miles that stupid pity look.

He wanted to talk to her, approach her, and talk to her about the life he left behind. But it was difficult when he couldn't remember any of it. He couldn't even remember where, or when, he and Persephone had met. When he was a child? As a teenager? At least she seemed to know him well. She mentioned something about the father he couldn't remember. He asked her what he was like, one day, when she'd been put on patrol by Hades.

"He was," she thought for a moment. "Very intelligent. He was a lawyer."

Miles nodded, eager to hear more, but she shrugged. "I never talked to him much. We only met a few times, and that was when you were about eight."

He turned to the machine he was operating. 

He wished he could remember something, anything. Persephone reminded him of his name over and over and over, but no matter what, he continued to forget. No matter how hard he tried.

He couldn't remember his job, but he supposed he'd been well-off. And that was all he ever had to go on.

"There was something I left behind," he muttered. Persephone hummed.

"Everyone leaves something behind."

"Something important, though. Important to me." If he could just remember. It_ frustrated _him, because if there was _anything _he could recall from his life, it was that he was _usually _good at remembering things.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Someone. Someone I left behind. I think..." he stopped the machine, and someone tensed up behind him. "I think I loved him."

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥

_You, the one I left behind_  
If you ever walk this way  
Come and find me lying in the bed I made


	4. ~ why we build the wall ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's definitely some political commentary in this song somewhere, even if it was written like a decade before trump ran for president

_Why do we build the wall,_  
My children, my children?  
Why do we build the wall?

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥_  
_

Miles was in the assmebly line when he noticed the wall. Persephone was walking a fair distance behind, making sure everyone was in line, so he couldn't flag her down and ask about it. Not that he could anyway. He'd seen what happened to those who broke form in the assembly line.

_Keep your head low if you wanna keep your head. _He wasn't about to start questioning the logistics of the afterlife. He was just glad that amputated limbs regrew. Didn't mean they couldn't feel pain, though... didn't mean there weren't at least a thousand faints every day, either, from the amount of labour, or... and it was funny, because he could remember scoffing at the ones who complained about their work, about being stressed, over-worked. It was one of the few things he could remember, and he wished he didn't.

Miles was in the assembly line because they were moving factories. Every hour, they would rotate. Persephone said that Hades said it helped keep people productive with the change of scenery and the brief break in between. But if anything, Miles only felt more and more exhausted each time.

And that was how their days went.

Every hour of every day. And the only reason they _knew _when it had been 24 hours was because of the giant clock mounted on the entrance, and Hades' booming baritone voice yelling the time every five hours.

"But what about timezones?" Miles asked Persephone one day as she was passing his machine.

She stopped to think. "The Underworld is separated into sections. It's... very large."

Miles nodded. "It's just Earth, but underground." He should have figured. Slowly, he looked up at the ceiling, while still working his machine. He'd become quite good at it. Most people had... even the children who were unfortunate to find themselves in Hades' clutches.

"I wonder what they're doing," he muttered.

"Hm?" Persephone was also looking up at the ceiling. She seemed to be pondering something.

"The person I left behind," Miles clarified. "I hope they're okay." He could vaguely remember harsh words, thrown back and forth, but there was no malice behind them. Even a hint of friendship, respect.

Thinking about whoever this person was made him feel warm. But then he also felt unease, and uncertainty. So. Maybe the warmth was just the blistering heat of Hadestown.

Persephone hummed then began to go back to her patrol, but Miles called out, "Wait!"

She stopped and turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Why the wall?"

Her eyes widened for a second, but then her calm stoic expression was back. "That's..." she sighed. "I'm not the person to ask."

"There's no one else."

She sighed again. "Every week, Hades... reminds us. You'll find out soon enough." At the sight of Miles' frightened expression, she added, "It's just over loudspeaker."

Still feeling scared, but not wanting to press the issue that made her uncomfortable, he retreated back to his machine. The bell rang, and it was time to rotate.

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥

He didn't know what day it was, but he guessed it must have been Friday. An entire week down in Hadestowm.

It felt like he'd been there for an eternity.

Every now and then, there were screams. Screams of those who've just had entire arms amputated, or the ones who broke their wrist from mining for so long. The ones who developed carpal tunnel. Or the ones who stepped out line during assembly line, and made a break for it, and were mauled by the hounds. Or the ones who accidentally crossed Hades, and they suddenly found themselves screaming on the ground, and he'd be yelling about "betraying" the ones who gave them everlasting life and freedom. Of course, as he'd come to learn, over the loudspeaker one day, "freedom" was only freedom from _poverty._

It was on that day he finally learned about the wall.

They were all to stop their work, and stand outside, in front of the entrance, the blood hounds looking on. Hades and Persephone stood above all of them.

As soon as Hades began to talk, well... Miles had never seen such a large crowd be brainwashed all at once, all at the same time-... it was terrifying. The chorus of men and women and _children _repeating words after words. It almost sounded like a song.

Singing it with them, Miles almost started to believe it, too.

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥

_The enemy is poverty_  
And the wall keeps out the enemy  
And we build the wall to keep us free  
That's why we build the wall  
We build the wall to keep us free  
We build the wall to keep us free  



	5. ~ come home with me / papers ~

_I sung a song,  
_ _So beautiful,  
_ _The stones wept,  
_ _And they let me in_

♦ ♣ ♠ ♥_  
_

...He hadn't expected it to go down this way.

When Phoenix turned up on Hermes' doorstep, the God wept and rejoiced, because it meant, he was free. Free from retelling the same tragedy over and over and _over. _But then, when it happened anyway? When Phoenix decided to pick up the piano? When he planned that trip with Miles, _he hadn't expected _it to go down the way that it did. It was supposed to be their vacation in the woods and to give Phoenix time to write his song, so he could make the seasons right again, and for Miles to be away from stress.

In hindsight, Hermes should have seen it coming. It all led to the same story. The seasons, the music. The love Phoenix held for Miles.

In hindsight, he should have realised it would just turn out the same way. It just made him wonder what changed. Perhaps the boy's father had decided to take mercy on Hermes' soul.

...despite his spite, he did what he had always done. He followed the boy down the winding railroad track, invisible. He made sure Phoenix was unharmed by the creatures that lurked in the shadows as they travelled deeper and deeper underground. Soon enough, they were at the gate. Cerberus howled and snarled.

He wanted to hug Phoenix tight and tell him it was going to be okay, but he couldn't. That was against the rules. He was only the narrator, the story-teller, the messenger. Interacting and interfering with something put in place by his superiors was not... it would never turn out well.

They managed their way past Cerberus, with the remaining luck that Phoenix had. They managed their way past the wall as was always planned. It was only from there that things began to get tricky. Watching the same story unravel hundreds of times over before his eyes meant he knew every detail.

Almost every detail.

Every incarnation there was something different, at least. Just the small differences. The ending... would always be the same.

Phoenix found Miles in the assembly line. He disrupted it as was planned. "Edgeworth!" he snatched Miles' hand, and the man stumbled forward, and you could see every lost memory flashing before his eyes.

"Phoenix-"

"Come on, let's go-"

"Wright!"

It was already chaos. The assembly line was disrupted, and people tripped over other people. Hermes watched from a distance. He didn't interfere when he saw Hades from the corner of his eye.

"Wright, why are you here-?"

"I came to save you. You called my name-"

"You heard-?"

"No, Hermes told me- this is my fault I'm sorry-"

"Wright, I can't go-"

"Yes, you can. I sung my way in and I can sing us out again-"

"Wright!" Miles snatched his hand away from Phoenix's grasp. He stood tall. "I can't go."

And suddenly Hades stood tall over them, with a harsh gaze, and clenched fists.

_♦ ♣ ♠ ♥_

_Mr Hades is a mean old boss!  
With a silver whistle and a golden scale  
An eye for an eye!  
And he weighs the cost  
A lie for a lie!  
_ _Sold!  
_ _To the king on the chronium throne  
_ _Thrown!  
_ _To the bottom of the Sing Sing Cell  
_ _Where the little wheel squeaks and the big wheel groans  
_ _And you better forget about your wishing well._

_♦ ♣ ♠ ♥_ _   
_

"Young man," Hades began, and Phoenix felt a chill go down his spine. "I don't think we've met before. You're not from around here, son."

Phoenix puffed out his chest and grabbed for Miles' hand, but the prosecutor pulled away. 

"Don't know who the hell you are but I can tell you don't belong," Hades approached slowly, his exterior was calm but his voice was angry. "These are workin' people, son, law abiding citizens. Go back to where you came from. You're on the wrong side of the fence."

"Hades," a lady spoke. Phoenix recognised her immedietely. "I know this boy," she said. Persephone!

"One of the unemployed?"

"His name is Phoenix..."

"You stay out of this."

Phoenix watched the interaction worriedly. This did not sound like the love Hermes had told him about. This was not a healthy marriage. Persephone looked tired, and Hades a tight grip on her arm.

"You hear me, son?!" Hades yelled suddenly, and Phoenix jumped. "You better run!"

"No!" Miles suddenly exclaimed. "Wright, you should go-"

"I'm not going back alone," Phoenix professed, "I came to take him home!" he grabbed for Miles' hand, but the prosecutor swatted it away.

Hades blinked, then began to laugh, a deep menacing laugh that looked unnatural on the god's features. "Who the hell do you think you are?! Who do you think you talking to? He couldn't go anywhere if he wanted to. You're not from around here, son, if you were, then you would know, that everything and everyone in Hadestown, _I own._"

The god now towered over the defense attorney, glaring down with fiery yet dark eyes. His expression, unlike the one he'd been bearing as he laughed, was now emotionless, stoic. At the expression on Phoenix's face, he grinned, and Phoenix took a shocked step backwards. He felt the prescence of Miles behind him, and his confidence flooded back to him.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Hades said, voice now lowered to almost a mutter, so only Phoenix could hear. He signed the deal himself, and now he-"

"It isn't true-"

"-belongs to me."

"It isn't true! What he said. Edgeworth-" the attorney turned to face the prosecutor, but was only met with a blank stare.

"I did," he said. "I do."

_♦ ♣ ♠ ♥_

_See, Orpheus was a poor boy._  
And Hades was a mighty king.  
But this boy raised up his voice, even though it was trembling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally pumped this one out. hope its good!

**Author's Note:**

> The Wrightworth Amino > https://aminoapps.com/c/Wrightworth168
> 
> Thank you very much for reading :) I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> *Disclaimer, I did not write the ‘poems’ that come before and after the story. They’re from the musical Hadestown


End file.
